File folders are utilized in staggering quantities to store letters, reports and other records, invoices, photographs, x-rays, clippings, and a host of other items in a chronological, alphabetical, numerical, or other arrangement which provides facile access to the documents as they are needed.
To meet this objective, it is necessary in most circumstances to uniquely identify each of the several folders involved. As indicated above, this is commonly done by applying different, typically multi-digit, numbers to the folders. Furthermore, to facilitate filing and retrieval of the folders, it is common to use contrasting digits on backgrounds color coded to represent the different digits 0 through 9--for example, the number 0 on a green background, the number 1 on a pink background, etc.
At the present time, most manufacturers do this by assigning a different color to each digit, 0 through 9, and then printing sheets with the proper number and its assigned color in the proper location on the sheet. Most manufacturers print only one colored number at a time. Therefore, the sheets must be printed the number of times there are numbers on the label. Next, the sheets are passed through a machine that applies a protective matte finish polyester film to the sheets.
The sheets are then collated into the proper number sequence using a standard collator such as a Speed Klect.
The sheets are then cut into labels, each bearing a complete label number; and the labels are then loaded into a Weber or other label application machine. This machine sprays adhesive onto the backs of the labels and applies the labels in the order in which they are loaded (which may not be correct) to file folders fed through the machine.
This method of manufacturing labels is time-consuming in that the sheets of labels must be passed through the printing press a number of times, depending on the number of numbers on the final label. It is also time-consuming to have to collate the numbers in correct sequential order, then cut them into individual labels, and handle the labels in the application machine.
Proper application of the adhesive is not always achieved. In that case, the affected labels have to be manually coated with adhesive and applied. This is labor intensive and adds significantly to the cost of labelling file folders.
Application of coded sets of labels to file folders in the manner just described also lacks flexibility. For example, one order might be for two folders with one set of labels, six folders with a different set of labels, etc. or for folders labelled with consecutive even numbers. Such production runs are difficult to handle with conventional labelling machines which are designed to apply label sets with sequential numbering--e.g., 001, 002, 003, . . . 999.
Another heretofore proposed machine for labelling file folders is disclosed in Kuring et al. U.S. Pat. Nos. 3,801,408 and 3,997,384, both entitled SYSTEM FOR MAKING COLOR-CODED INDEX TABS and respectively issued on 10 February 1972 and 14 December 1976.
In the Kuring et al. machine, labels are applied to an adhesively backed tape. The segment of the tape bearing the labels is then severed, producing what the patentees term an index tab. Next, a peel strip is removed from the index tab; and the tab is applied to a file folder.
One disadvantage of this machine is the considerable number of steps required to label a folder by virtue by the labels first being applied to a tape which must then be severed, separated from its peel strip, and applied to the file folder. Also, the multiple, label-to-tape and tape-to-folder adhesive bonds afford considerable opportunity for insecure attachment; and opportunities for misalignment abound. The labels must be accurately registered on the type and the severed, tab-forming segment of the tape accurately aligned with the folder being labelled.